Motosport General discussion tread --- Formula1, MotoGP, WTCC, ETCC, DTM.....

[coinlocket$]

The 2026 F1 Start Times have just been released. No circuits have changed from the calendar, but the Canadian GP has been moved back to avoid a direct clash with the Indianapolis 500. Other than that, there are no further changes. The 2026 calendar will feature six sprint races and two Saturday grands prix. Here's the full schedule:

They confirmed the 6, again, sprint races for the next year.
Now we know where they will be hosted.

China
Miami
Canada
Silverstone
Netherlands
Singapore

And looks like we will have 2 races in Saturdays?
Am I missing something?

Azerbajian and Las Vegas.

[LTU_btc]

I read rumours that Red Bull already decided that Isack Hadjar will be their 2nd driver. Surprise surprise, how unexpected. Oh shit, here we go again. I think most of us already can see how it's going to end.

They confirmed the 6, again, sprint races for the next year.
Now we know where they will be hosted.

China
Miami
Canada
Silverstone
Netherlands
Singapore

And looks like we will have 2 races in Saturdays?
Am I missing something?

Azerbajian and Las Vegas.

Maybe I missed something, but why did they move Azerbaijan race to Saturday.
And sprint race in Singapore? They must be kidding. Why not in Monaco.

[tokeweed]

The 2026 F1 Start Times have just been released. No circuits have changed from the calendar, but the Canadian GP has been moved back to avoid a direct clash with the Indianapolis 500. Other than that, there are no further changes. The 2026 calendar will feature six sprint races and two Saturday grands prix. Here's the full schedule:

They confirmed the 6, again, sprint races for the next year.
Now we know where they will be hosted.

China
Miami
Canada
Silverstone
Netherlands
Singapore

And looks like we will have 2 races in Saturdays?
Am I missing something?

Azerbajian and Las Vegas.

Belgium should be one of the races that should move to Saturday...  Sunday seems cursed for Spa, as it always pours hard and spoils the race.  

Anyway, Azerbaijan GP next.  This should be interesting after the last Grand Prix's results?  Was it a fluke for Verstappen or have they figured something out?  



2025 F1 Azerbaijan GP Schedule
Track:  Baku City Circuit



September 19, Friday:  Practice 1  12:30 - 13:30
September 19, Friday:  Practice 2  16:00 - 17:00
September 20, Saturday:  Practice 3  12:30 - 13:30
September 20, Saturday:  Qualifying  16:00 - 17:00
September 21, Sunday:  Race  15:00

[retreat]

And looks like we will have 2 races in Saturdays?
Am I missing something?

Azerbajian and Las Vegas.

Yes, that's right, we'll have two races on Saturday, in Las Vegas and in Azerbaijan. The Las Vegas race was originally planned as a Saturday night race, but the Azerbaijan race was moved to Saturday to avoid clashing with a national holiday.

And sprint race in Singapore? They must be kidding. Why not in Monaco.

It's likely due to Monaco's narrower layout, which makes overtaking less likely. Furthermore, the sprint race format has fewer laps, so there's less spectacle. Meanwhile, a sprint race in Singapore makes more sense. Although both are street circuits, Marina Bay is more spacious and has slightly modified the layout, making overtaking possible.

[coinlocket$]

I read rumours that Red Bull already decided that Isack Hadjar will be their 2nd driver. Surprise surprise, how unexpected. Oh shit, here we go again. I think most of us already can see how it's going to end.

Yeah that is the ongoing rumor.

Hadjar and Max in to Redbull
Tsunoda in to Alpine with Gasly
Visa cash app. Lawson and?

Not sure if is a good call going to RBR the next year with the revolution that will come.

[Distraction]

We are in Azerbaijan this week and I'd like to share a really interesting statistics by Leclerc here. 



5 poles in the last 5 races on this track... One of them is sprint shootout in 2023 by the way. Really impressive, right? But 0 wins for Leclerc in all these races.

However I think he's still likely to go for a pole again. I doubt his win again on the other hand.

[coinlocket$]

yeah he is very strong in this track and actually, since we dont have high turn speeds, he may have a chance this year too.
If the track has many high turn speed then Mclarens make the difference.

On a single lap he may have a chance but we also have a long, very long straight here and it may change cause of it.
IF a team decide to sacrifice a driver then the team mate can easly gain 4 tents there.

[LTU_btc]

It's likely due to Monaco's narrower layout, which makes overtaking less likely. Furthermore, the sprint race format has fewer laps, so there's less spectacle. Meanwhile, a sprint race in Singapore makes more sense. Although both are street circuits, Marina Bay is more spacious and has slightly modified the layout, making overtaking possible.

I was sarcastic when I mentioned Monaco. It wouldn't make any sense to make sprint where it's impossible to overtake. Singapore is something similar. I think it's bad decision to make sprint in this track where we don't see many successful overtakes.

Yeah that is the ongoing rumor.

Hadjar and Max in to Redbull
Tsunoda in to Alpine with Gasly
Visa cash app. Lawson and?

Not sure if is a good call going to RBR the next year with the revolution that will come.

As long as they have Max, they can continue changingbtheir 2nd drivers, but I doubt that they will get any result from it.

[Webetcoins]

We are in Azerbaijan this week and I'd like to share a really interesting statistics by Leclerc here. 



5 poles in the last 5 races on this track... One of them is sprint shootout in 2023 by the way. Really impressive, right? But 0 wins for Leclerc in all these races.

However I think he's still likely to go for a pole again. I doubt his win again on the other hand.

Main reason why Ferrari does great at qualify, and not so much in the race, shows the proof that Charles and the car is fine, it's the pit that is the problem. Between team principle, the race engineer, the uncoordinated pit stop, all of it, all strategies, causes their racers to lose week in and week out.

I feel like they could have done so much better in the last five years, sure maybe not win the whole thing as a title, maybe that too, but the problem is that we are seeing how much terrible they are with the way they are going about on their strategies. And that is their issue, as long as they have that, they are not going to get better results, and they will end up with failing to win any titles for a long time.

[retreat]

-snip-
However I think he's still likely to go for a pole again. I doubt his win again on the other hand.

I actually think the opposite that he will not be able to get pole and also not be able to win in this race, because McLaren is quite dominant at the moment, and Ferrari also seems to be not very consistent in their performance, so to get pole position or win in this race might be quite difficult for them. Unless Max or McLaren have serious problems with their car, maybe Charles can have a good chance to win this race, if not, well we don't need to expect too much from Ferrari.

[FanEagle]

yeah he is very strong in this track and actually, since we dont have high turn speeds, he may have a chance this year too.
If the track has many high turn speed then Mclarens make the difference.

On a single lap he may have a chance but we also have a long, very long straight here and it may change cause of it.
IF a team decide to sacrifice a driver then the team mate can easly gain 4 tents there.

Overall McLaren is obviously the superior car, but the gap isn't as much as it used to be, so anything is possible. Qualifying is something special and should not be the way to decide who is better, which is proven by Charles getting pole but failing to win.

It's more about race pace, because one lap pace and race pace are different and that is not going to be the same. We need to see how the strategies will play out, and how teams will play out, because that will decide on many things and will be very hard to decide. We are going to end up with results that will not be that crazy for Ferrari once again. Most possibly we are going to end up with McLaren's winning again, as long as they can stay on the track and finish, most likely result is their win.

[Velvet78]

I think Hadjar is making a big mistake by joining Red Bull in 2026...    Isn't it obvious that they will continue to make nearly all of their investments into Verstappen's car again?

If they are planning to change their vision and care about the constructors championship more then okay. In that case Hadjar can really be competitive. Otherwise he will waste his time there.


Another thing I have heard of is that F1 management is planning to bring reverse grid for sprint. It might be fun for us to watch but I still find sprint races very unnecessary...

[coinlocket$]

2025 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Practice Results (1)
1   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren F1 Team   1m42.704s
2   Oscar Piastri   AUS   McLaren F1 Team   1m43.014s
3   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari HP   1m43.256s
4   George Russell   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m43.421s
5   Alex Albon   THA   Atlassian Williams Racing   1m43.563s
6   Yuki Tsunoda   JPN   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m43.738s
7   Max Verstappen   NED   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m43.790s
8   Carlos Sainz   ESP   Atlassian Williams Racing   1m43.859s
9   Liam Lawson   NZL   Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team   1m43.903s
10   Isack Hadjar   FRA   Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team   1m43.975s
11   Kimi Antonelli   ITA   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m43.985s
12   Nico Hulkenberg   GER   Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber   1m43.986s
13   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Scuderia Ferrari HP   1m44.087s
14   Gabriel Bortoleto   BRA   Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber   1m44.087s
15   Fernando Alonso   ESP   Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team   1m44.139s
16   Oliver Bearman   GBR   MoneyGram Haas F1 Team   1m44.151s
17   Lance Stroll   CAN   Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team   1m44.329s
18   Esteban Ocon   FRA   MoneyGram Haas F1 Team   1m44.439s
19   Franco Colapinto   ARG   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m45.299s
20   Pierre Gasly   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m45.418s

Source: https://www.crash.net/f1/results/1082014/1/2025-f1-azerbaijan-grand-prix-friday-practice-results


As expected, Mclarens and Leclerc in top 3.
I don't think that ferrari can fight for the pole but I also think he will be very close.

[tokeweed]

^  Didn't think much of what you said when you mentioned how Leclerc could make it close.    But when I looked at the FP2 results...  I was very surprised that the guys at Ferrari pulled off a 1 - 2.

Nice to see Hamilton as the top for a change.  Even if it's just a practice session.

Here are the results.

2025 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix FP2 Results

1   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Scuderia Ferrari HP   1m41.293s
2   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari HP   1m41.367s
3   George Russell   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m41.770s
4   Kimi Antonelli   ITA   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m41.779s
5   Oliver Bearman   GBR   MoneyGram Haas F1 Team   1m41.891s
6   Max Verstappen   NED   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m41.902s
7   Liam Lawson   NZL   Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team   1m41.989s
8   Esteban Ocon   FRA   MoneyGram Haas F1 Team   1m42.167s
9   Alex Albon   THA   Atlassian Williams Racing   1m42.177s
10   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren F1 Team   1m42.199s
11   Carlos Sainz   ESP   Atlassian Williams Racing   1m42.255s
12   Oscar Piastri   AUS   McLaren F1 Team   1m42.295s
13   Isack Hadjar   FRA   Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team   1m42.443s
14   Yuki Tsunoda   JPN   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m42.444s
15   Gabriel Bortoleto   BRA   Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber   1m42.561s
16   Pierre Gasly   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m42.674s
17   Lance Stroll   CAN   Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team   1m42.771s
18   Nico Hulkenberg   GER   Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber   1m42.820s
19   Fernando Alonso   ESP   Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team   1m42.967s
20   Franco Colapinto   ARG   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m43.322s

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Ferrari in top with Hamilton, what a strange feeling
Both Mclanres touched the wall

As predicted on this track should be only Mclanres-Leclerc thing.
Quite surprising seeing Lewis on top

[retreat]

Ferrari in top with Hamilton, what a strange feeling
Both Mclanres touched the wall

As predicted on this track should be only Mclanres-Leclerc thing.
Quite surprising seeing Lewis on top

I didn't watch the full FP session, but when I saw Charles-Lewis' name above, it only made me a little surprised. Ferrari rarely does things like this, and when they do, it's a miracle. But I didn't expect much, as Ferrari has often pranked the audience, where they're very good in FP or qualifying, but when it comes to the race, their strategy is just rubbish.

[coinlocket$]

1   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren F1 Team   1m41.223s
2   Max Verstappen   NED   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m41.445s
3   Oscar Piastri   AUS   McLaren F1 Team   1m41.477s
4   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Scuderia Ferrari HP   1m41.499s
5   Kimi Antonelli   ITA   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m41.876s
6   George Russell   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m41.964s
7   Alex Albon   THA   Atlassian Williams Racing   1m41.983s
8   Oliver Bearman   GBR   MoneyGram Haas F1 Team   1m41.985s
9   Liam Lawson   NZL   Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team   1m42.146s
10   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari HP   1m42.209s
11   Isack Hadjar   FRA   Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team   1m42.267s
12   Nico Hulkenberg   GER   Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber   1m42.428s
13   Carlos Sainz   ESP   Atlassian Williams Racing   1m42.486s
14   Fernando Alonso   ESP   Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team   1m42.591s
15   Franco Colapinto   ARG   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m42.789s
16   Yuki Tsunoda   JPN   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m42.840s
17   Esteban Ocon   FRA   MoneyGram Haas F1 Team   1m42.868s
18   Gabriel Bortoleto   BRA   Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber   1m43.060s
19   Pierre Gasly   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m43.322s
20   Lance Stroll   CAN   Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team   1m43.350s

Source: https://www.crash.net/f1/results/1082083/1/2025-f1-azerbaijan-gp-final-practice-results-lando-norris-leads-max-verstappen

Mclarens back on the top.
Interesting fact that timers are slower this morning than yesterday.
Pole position soon, with Max closer to the top.

Who will make it?

My top 4,
1 pia 2 nor 3max 4lec

[Webetcoins]

Even on practice runs it's obvious that McLaren is great, and they are going to do a lot better. If they can keep this up then it's going to be not easy for anyone to get close this season.

I mean titles are already decided, but expectation was that some team would get some great upgrades during the summer and will come back and be great. So far no team looks like that at all, everyone seems like they are the same.

I guess there is a possibility that every single team is looking into 2026 car because of the regulations change, so nobody cares about this season, it's clear McLaren will win this season, so why would they end up putting anything into it, they are just focusing on next season to have a better car.

[coinlocket$]

what a weird but exiting qualify we got.
Pole position for Max, Carlos second and Liam 3rd.

Disaster for Ferrari with slow Hamilton and Leclerc mistake.
Even worse for Mclaren.

Atleast it will be a good race tomorrow.

[retreat]

I'd say this was the craziest qualifying session I've ever witnessed. Six drivers crashed into the wall, resulting in a chaotic qualifying session. Those six red flags even produced a new qualifying record, surpassing the five seen in last year's qualifying in Sao Paulo and the 2022 Imola round. And even more bizarrely, Sainz finished second and Lawson third in his Racing Bulls. It was truly bizarre to see these two finish second and third with their current cars.

But as I suspected, Charles simply couldn't secure pole position in this qualifying session again. His poor grip caused him to lose control of his car and end up crashing into the wall. Likewise, Hamilton, even worse, only managed 12th.

As for Max, he was truly quite the man. Even the light rain didn't bother him; he pushed his car and secured pole position. I can say that in terms of mentality, Max is a champion. He'll likely secure P1 in tomorrow's race with his current performance.